I enjoyed this conference immensely and went to several excellent presentations. One was a presentation about how peer tutors receive training from librarians in how to help students with research projects. The peer tutors conduct reference interviews and can work with students on the research and writing processes. Very cool stuff. I really think this model of peer tutoring is exceptional because it recognizes the interconnectedness of the research and writing processes and helps students get beyond thinking that one simply precedes the other.
A WC director and one of her tutors presented the results of a survey of faculty that indicated that although faculty value in student writing many of the same aspects that WC tutors value, they often don't consider the WC as a place to get help with those concerns (organization, development of ideas, thesis). It indicated that more communication needs to happen between the WC and faculty.
Throughout the conference there were discussions about the extent to which peer tutors serve as "informants" on the practices of certain instructors. Senior peer tutors know which professors want good thesis statements and which ones want particular fonts. Should peer tutors mediate instructors' expectations of students? Hmm...
The conference organizers chose the concept of leadership and many presenters emphasized how peer tutors can take leadership roles through activities such as developing tutor training programs. One peer tutor talked about how her WC uses recorded conferences to discuss ways to improve conferences.
I attended a good presentation by students and tutors who discussed L2 writers in the WC. A student presented about how she improved writing by working closely with a tutor and yet insisted to others that she will always "write with an accent." She realized that writing well did not mean making her "sound" like a native speaker. Tutors discussed the difficulties that are inherent in tutoring L2 writers and how to navigate them.
